RIVERSIDE HOME WORSHIP
Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020
CALL TO WORSHIP
From Zechariah 9 & Matthew 21
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!
OPENING PRAYER
Almighty God.
We are gathered today, in heart and in spirit, at Your call.
We come to bow before You in worship and praise.
And we pray, as we begin this time, that You would enliven us by Your Spirit.
That our Hosannas of Palm Sunday may be a pleasing joy to You,
and that the assurances of our faith might be deepened once again.
In the Name of Jesus our King.
Amen.
OPENING SONG
“All Glory, Laud, and Honor”
(To be read or sung)
All glory, laud, and honor
To thee, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring.
Thou art the King of Israel,
Thou David’s royal Son,
Who in the Lord’s name comest,
The King and Blessed One.
The company of angels
Are praising thee on high,
And mortal men and all things
Created make reply.
The people of the Hebrews
With palms before thee went;
Our praise and love and anthems
Before thee we present.
To thee, before thy passion,
They sang their hymns of praise;
To thee, now high exalted,
Our melody we raise.
Thou didst accept their praises;
Accept the love we bring,
Who in all good delightest,
Thou good and gracious King!
CHILDREN’S LESSON
(Parents can read this, talk more about it with the kids, or even find visuals to help)
“The True King”
In home church today, we’re going to learn from Paul about Jesus as our King.
Today is a really important day for our faith. It’s the day when we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem and the crowd celebrating Him as the Messiah. The people all waved palm branches, spread their cloaks out on the road, and shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” They were shouting “Save us!” and celebrating the King!
But the celebration didn’t last long.
See, the people wanted Jesus to be a different kind of king than He was. They wanted Jesus to save them by driving out the romans. They wanted a worldly ruler who would set the Jewish people free. But Jesus didn’t come to do that. He came to save people from their sins. He came to show Himself to be the King of heaven’s kingdom.
But then, when the people found out that Jesus wasn’t going to be the kind of king they wanted, they turned on Him.
It can be easy for us to want Jesus to be different sometimes too.
Maybe we want Him to answer a prayer differently. Or maybe we want His plans for our life to be exactly what we want. Or maybe we don’t understand why He is letting us go through something really hard (like this time when we can’t go to school or see our friends).
But when Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome — he wrote to remind them that Jesus is King of the whole-wide-world! That, even though we might not understand at times, He has a good plan for us. And when we trust in Him, we belong to His Kingdom forever.
“Hosanna to the King!”
Prayer:
(Could be followed by singing the first verse of ‘Jesus Loves Me’)
Dear God, thank you for loving us. And thank You for sending Jesus to save us and be our eternal King. Please help us to trust and follow Him always. Amen.
A PRAYER FOR PALM SUNDAY
Gracious God, Loving Father.
As we unite our hearts in prayer today, we find ourselves in the first day of these eight in special remembrance — today — remembrance of the day in which Your Son, and our Savior, rode triumphant into Jerusalem as King before the jubilant crowd of palms and cloaks.
In that same spirit of celebration, we bring our “Hosannas” of praise.
For the gift of life and being—the daily blessings of health, food, and shelter – the talents and passions by which we work and in which we leisure – and the treasured relationships with family and friends with whom we share in life—for this, Father, we cry “Hosanna”
For the gift of Jesus—the Way of salvation – the Truth of Your love, mercy and grace – and the new and eternal Life found in Him—for this, Father, we cry “Hosanna”
For the gift of the Church—the community of Your people – the gifts of Your Spirit – and the place she is of Amazing Grace and Gospel Truth—for this, Father, we cry “Hosanna”
For the gift of Your Kingdom Near—the blessings, gifts, and bonds of Christian love found in and among your people – those who give of their finances, efforts, and time to serve as witness to the Good News in word and deed – for the opportunity and blessing of sharing in joys and bearing in burdens together – and for each and every place of Your victory in this world—for this, Father, we cry “Hosanna”
And for the gift of Your Kingdom to Come—the blessed assurance that we belong – body and soul in life and in death – to it’s Cornerstone – that He is, indeed, coming one day to claim us – and that we shall spend all eternity in the glory of Your presence because all His is ours and all ours is His—for this, Father, we cry “Hosanna”
Yet, in our “Hosannas” Father—we also know that the joyous cries special of this day, so soon, turned to the cries to “Crucify”.
And so, we pray:
For those of unbelief—they who do not yet recognize Christ Jesus as Messiah, Liberator, and King—in this, Father, may You turn hearts to faith.
For this world in the rot of sin—this place of so much brokenness in violence, disobedience, abuses, divisions, apathy, racism, and celebrations of sin – and this place of so much hurt and pain in lostness, loneliness, displacement, sadness, waywardness, and of basic needs not met—to this, Father, may Your Kingdom Come.
For Your Church—in every way she finds herself threatened – every pressure to bend her neck to culture instead of the yoke of Christ – every temptation toward improper posture, judgements, insulation, exclusion, division – and every way in which she feels timid in the Gospel—for this Father, may she find every special measure of blessing.
For this church—in this journey of Renewal – the opportunities that lie ahead – the challenges we will face – the decisions to be made – and the tasks to which You will call us—for this, Father, may we find Your clear leading and the strength to follow Your Call.
For Your people—in our many joys of life and the various trials of it’s journey – our strengths of faith and our struggles of doubt – our cherished relationships and our times of loneliness – our satisfaction in accomplishments and our stresses of schedule – our ease in agreements and our difficulties in the opposite – our happiness in hobbies and our frustration in idleness – our pondering in interest and our pacing in confusion – our gains in holiness and our failures at temptation – and every way we find these heights and depths in our life, our work, our school, our homes, our relationships, and our daily walk with You—in, for, and to all this, Father, may we continue to find those special and perfect measures of Your Love, Mercy and Grace tailored to each one of us – Your children – in the ways we need them according to Your good and perfect Will.
And for this strange and challenging time—for all those who have fallen victim to this virus – all those who seek to care for them and find the cure – all those in governance who search for the best measures by which to combat its spread – a world, national, and local economy that is to find painful effects for many days to come – and for all of us amidst this time…
Of difficulty and frustration…
Of loneliness in isolation or stressful-busyness in a perpetually-packed home…
Of economic loss or loss of employment…
Of missing-out on milestones of young life or missing-deeply friends and family…
Of uncertainty, of concern, of wondering, and of even fear…
Father, be near to us all — to assure us that You are on the Throne, that Christ is Lord, that Your Spirit is mightily at work in this world, and that we are – in all things, body and soul, in life and death – eternally Yours.
In the perfecting-power of Your Spirit and in the Mighty Name of our King Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
GOD’S WORD
Romans 8:31-39 — “RESOLVED: Priest”
Follow along with this sermon video teaching from Pastor Ben.
Resolved: King
Romans 1:1-7 (ESV)
‘Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Heidelberg Catechism
Question and Answer 31 (Lord’s Day 12)
Q: Why is he called Christ, that is, Anointed?
A: Because he has been ordained by God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit,
to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of his body
has redeemed us, and who continually intercedes for us before the Father; and our eternal King,
who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us.
CLOSING SONG
“Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”
(To be read, sung, or listened to)
Hosanna, loud hosanna
the little children sang;
through pillared court and temple
the lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them,
close folded to his breast,
the children sang their praises,
the simplest and the best.
From Olivet they followed
mid an exultant crowd,
the victory palm branch waving,
and chanting clear and loud.
The Lord of earth and heaven
rode on in lowly state,
nor scorned that little children
should on his bidding wait.
“Hosanna in the highest!”
That ancient song we sing,
for Christ is our Redeemer,
the Lord of heaven, our King.
O may we ever praise him
with heart and life and voice,
and in his blissful presence
eternally rejoice.
GOD’S BLESSING
“May the Lord bless you and keep you.”
“May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.”
“May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace.”
“In this day, and all those to come.”
DOXOLOGY
“He Is Lord”
(To be sung or read)
He is Lord.
He is Lord.
He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess,
that Jesus Christ is Lord.
— The Grace and Peace of the King be with you all —
Pastor Ben
